Ashley, the yorkie

I did this commission of this sweet little dog as a gift for my daughter in law and her sisters to give to their mom for Christmas. Ashley passed away a couple years ago at the ripe old age of 18.  She was a much loved little pet of Janie's and is dearly missed every day. 

Kelly at five years old

I've been wanting to do a painting of Jim's daughter, Kelly. I have the one of my son Freddie  (the gunslinger) when he was four. Just had to find the right one of Kelly so that we have a pair to hang together. Not sure if this is the "right" one but it was my favorite of the ones we have. 

Lots of work!

I've pretty neglectful of this blog lately. What with the bad weather and thanksgiving celebrations there has not been time to get outside and photo my work. I have painted almost daily and here are some of the pieces I have finished.

This a painting of a good friend, Bob.  About 90 minutes work, 9 by 12 on canvas. From a snap I took to work on skin tones for the next large work.

And here's the large work. 24 by 36 oil on canvas. This is a commission for the couple. The reference photo was night flash shot taken on Bourbon Street in New Orleans a few years ago. They love the photo pose but the actual photo was a nightmare to paint from. I learned that lesson!  All the shading you see is from my mind as it did not exist in the reference photo.  Yikes!  I'm pleased with how it turned out though and it gets a coat of retouch varnish today and then gets delivered as soon as it is dry. 

Another large work, 30 by 40 oil on gallery wrap canvas.  This one sits on our mantel as a part of our Asian decor. I started this last July and probably would have done a lot of things different if I was doing it today, given all I have learned from Anna Bain.  Still, I'm pleased with it and so is Jim.  

This is Kia, a model from my classes with Anna Bain.  This was done over two 3 hour classes.  16 by 20, oil on canvas mounted to board. 

These last two are of my beautiful granddaughter, Chandler. She sat for me during the thanksgiving holidays.  A really pretty model and great at holding a pose!  Thank you, Chan!

Rearranging the studio!

As you may have heard, we are iced-in here in Fort Worth. We got 3 to 4 inches of ice Thursday night here at our home in far north Fort Worth and I have used the time to paint....a lot!  But yesterday I also decided to re-purpose a chrome computer desk, since I don't really use it for that now that I use a laptop and iPad for my computing.   It is now a roll-around tabouret!  Yay!  I left the printer on the bottom shelf as that is the best out-of-the-way place for it.  One of the things I love about this new tabouret is that there are three levels for use. My brushes are on top in a carousel that I bought one time at michaels. The main level (which held the monitor) holds my 16 by 20 glass palette for when I stand to paint. The pull out portion that held the computer keyboard is perfect for the smaller glass palette, which stores in my masterson box with some cotton balls of clove oil to retard drying.  Perfect level for when I sit to paint. To the right of the tabouret is an Elfa drawer unit from container store. On top are various bottles and cans holding linseed oil, Gamsol, gesso, other mediums, etc.
In the drawers are paints, rags, gloves and other various and sundry items that I might want nearby.
To the left is another smaller Elfa unit that mostly holds sewing tools in its drawers, but the top is great for my computer, speakers and iPad. I use an older aluminum stanright easel, that once belonged to my husband when he was doing some painting.  At some point, I'd love to have a wooden easel with more versatility but that is definitely a want and not a need right now. Maybe that will come once I have sold some pieces and can buy it with those funds.  One of my favorite things about this new set-up is that it is all so mobile. I can move the tabouret and easel to any place that I choose to paint, even another room if need be.  Below are a couple pictures of my "new" studio!